The Thin Man

A great comic murder mystery that relies on the acting and snappy dialog and less on the plot, which otherwise is a standard whodunit from a novel by Dash Hammett. Powell, Loy and O'Sullivan give it their all as society people caught up in a trashy murder involving Mrs. Tarzan's zany scientist dad. Were it not for these three, the film would likely be unwatchable today. They are nicely supported by an army of bit players doing their best Runyon-esquire impressions as felons and thugs who all seem to have a passion for Powell's Nick Charles, ex-cop and now the gin-swilling husband of millionairess Loy. The story takes place at Christmastime in Manhattan, which gives it a nice sense of time and place even though it was clearly shot on Hollywood sound stages. No one apparently planned on a followup, but the movie proved so popular, the entire production team was back in place two years later for the only slightly less captivating AFTER THE THIN MAN, this time set in California on New Year's Eve.